It's July, half the year is over. Have you finished at least half of your goals? If you are like most, the answer is, 'No'. Not close. Many have even given up altogether on their goals.

Why do we fail? Why do some attain their goals and some miss the mark, miss it big time. We all have the same hours each day, and we all have distractions and unexpected events.

Barring a family or medical crisis, we should be able to reach our goals, as long as they are reasonable.

What is the secret of those who reach their goals? It's productive use of time. It's the focus and the scheduling.

Better use of even an hour a day can make the difference. It's spending less time chatting, less time on coffee break, less time day dreaming. It's getting right to work in the morning and spending a few extra minutes at the end of the day.

But, do you have goals that motivate you? Do you have a passion? Do you even have a plan?

Without a plan, without a goal, we drift, time escapes us while we do things that do not matter. If we don't have a plan to do something that matters, little gets done. When little gets done, we feel little, we feel insignificant, we feel empty. At the end of the day, we feel best when we can look back at something accomplished.

Be productive, make a plan, and stick to the plan, or adjust it as appropriate. If you have not reached half of your goals for the year now, in July, then a change is needed.

What is the change? It's focus, it's the plan, and it's accountability. If it's hard for you to be accountable to yourself, find a friend to report to weekly. Or, hire an accountability coach. The idea is not someone to yell at you, it's someone to help you keep on track.

Rather than report that you did not do as agreed to another person, we are more likely to get it done so that we can have a positive report. It's that simple; but, it's also that effective.

The more productive we are, the better we feel and the more we accomplish. Truly, it's a win/win for one and all.

If it's working, fine, keep up the good work. If it's not working, change. Keep changing till you find the key that allows it to work.

The change or changes can be as simple as: Having a goal Making a plan Scheduling your time Focus Eliminating useless time wasters Finding an accountability coach Trying a change or two until you feel the success

You can get it done by the end of the year if you want to. You can do it. Do you want to be productive? Then be productive. You have the tools. Use them.